Instagram Rolls Out 60-Second Video Option for Advertisers

While most social-media platforms emphasize their commitment to brevity — Vine’s six-second videos, Twitter’s 140-character per tweet limit and Snapchat’s vanishing messages — one company is hoping to extend attention spans.

Instagram is rolling out a new feature for advertisers today: an option for minute-long ads. Previously, advertisers had a maximum time limit of 30 seconds to convey their messages, which is double the 15-second limit users have for their videos. Already two companies — T-Mobile and Warner Bros. — have taken advantage of this option. While the telecom company uploaded bonus footage of its Super Bowl commercial with Drake to Instagram, the movie studio is promoting the upcoming filmHow To Be Single with a minute-long trailer.

“Our research shows that it’s important to capture people’s attention in the first seconds. At the same time we want marketers to have the creative flexibility to drive their business goals,” said an Instagram spokesperson via email.

The rollout of the new ad format will continue over the next few weeks.

This is the latest step monetizing the app. Originally ad-free, Instagram has also been monetized by static photo ads, short videos and photos that potential customers could click on for more information. It makes sense that the company would continue down this path. Owned by Facebook, Instagram has more than 400 million users to date, offering companies a large, far-reaching, active audience to profit from. It also means that Instagram is offering YouTube competition for advertisers.